My outside hitters made a strong contribution: Manabe

Yukiko Ebata, Japan, leading scorer: "It’s been quite a while since I played an international game in Japan, but I just tried to play as usual and it was good to win 3-0."

Masayoshi Manabe, Japan, coach: "Today’s game was our first at home since the Olympic Qualification Tournament but it’s our seventh in the World Grand Prix. Today, I tried to use some players who have not had a lot of chances to play and they did a really good job, especially Inoue, Tanaka and Ebata, the outside hitters; they made a really strong contribution."

Wilavan Apinyapong, Thailand, captain: "Our team were kind of dull in their movements today, which may be a result of the travelling we’ve had to do in the last week. We had a game last Monday and we had to travel after that, so we’re a bit tired. Also, the Japan team are really skillful and very difficult to play against."

Danai Sriwacharamaytakul, Thailand, coach: "Today, the Japan team were very patient and they didn’t make many mistakes. From our side, we also couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had and we were slow in our movement, which cost us points."